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Authenticity in the Reconstruction of Historical Disc Recording Sessions

Early audio technology has an increasing fascination and commercial interest, both among consumers and among professionals. One good example is the increasing rehabilitation of valve (tube) equipment. In the field of re-issues of historical recordings, one commercially very successful venture uses acoustic reproduction of the original recordings as the interface between the record and the electronics. The author has used the method of reconstruction for obtaining experience in the acoustic recording field in order to better understand the decisions of our predecessors which led to the recordings that have survived. This method may be used correctly with due consideration of the concerns in the period, and it may be abused by making indiscriminate shortcuts.